Dental swaging device.



No, 849,297. -PATENTED APE. 2,1901. E. J.' wEEEE.

DENTAL swAGING DEVICE.

PPPPPP ATIQN FILED Nov.15, 190s.

LA lu'mmm .Ik H 7 31.100 Georlgaf. WEZ/ef;

GEORGE J. WEBER, OF LIBERTY CENTER, OHIO.

DENTAL SWAGING DEVICE;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 2, 1907.

Application tiled November l5, 1905. Serial No: 287,532.

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE J. WEBER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Liberty Oenter, in the county of Henry and State ofOhio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dental SwagingDevices, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to improvements in dental swaging devices forforming metal dental plates, and has for its object to provide a simpleand effective construction of swaging device whereby the operation ofmaking dental plates is simplified and whereby the plate may be finallyswaged or iinished on a plaster cast or model, so as to insure anaccurate fit.

In the drawings hereto annexed and forma part of this specification,Figure l is a side elevation of the swaging device. Fig. 2' is a centralvertical section thereof. Fig. 3 is a top plan view. Fig. 4 is a bottomplan view of the plunger with the die applied thereto.

The swaging device comprises two main parts or members-to wit, a cup land a diecarrying plunger 2-both of which conform in outline to thegeneral contour of the type of plate to be produced. The cup l ispreferably formed of steel, cast-iron, or some other strong and durablematerial. It has a fiat bottom 3 and a body-wall 4 rising therefrom toform a socket or chamber of a desired depth. The plunger 2 consists of ablock or body of steel, cast-iron, or other durable material and has itsupper portion suitably reduced and terminating in a socket 5 to receivea concussion-head 6, which receives the blows of a hammer or mallet inthe swaging opera-tion. This head may be made of metal, but ispreferably constructed of hard wood, so that if the one in use should bebroken or mutilated it may be conveniently withdrawn and a new headsubstituted there- The lower face of the plunger 2 is formed with achamber or recess 7 to receive a die holder and backing 8, consisting ofsome suitable material that is hard at normal temperature and capable ofbeing softened by the action of hot water or a low degree of heat. Thedie 9 comprises a body having a plane or flat back or rear face and anacting or impression surface l0, conforming in contour to the shape ofthe plate to be swaged. This die is embedded and held in the backing 8.In the operation of inserting the die the backing 8 is softened to thedesired extent by the aid of heat, the back portion of the die forcedtherein until embedded to the desired extent, and the backing allowed toset or harden under normal temperature or hardened by submerging theplunger andd'ie in cold water. After the die is embedded in the backingthe projecting rim edges of the latter are trimmed down flush with thelower face of the rim of the recess 7 and dusted with soapstone to aidin separating it from the cup in a later operation. f

The body of the plunger is adapted to fit snugly within the cup l, andwithin the latter is a counter-die 11, formed of some suitable plasticmaterial which, like the die-backing 8, may be softened by the action ofhot water or a comparatively low degree of heat.

In the operation of preparing the parts for use a plaster cast or modelof that portion of the mouth of the patient to which the plate is to befitted is made, and from this cast or model a die of metal fusible at alow heat is prepared. While the plaster model and die are being made thelastic material forming the die-backing and? counter-die body may be andpreferably are being subjected to a softening process by subjecting themto the action of heat. The softened plastic material is then worked intosuitable shape and placed in the cup and die cavity in the plunger andthe die applied to the plunger in the manner previously described. Whilethe plastic material in the cup is still in a softened state the plungercarrying the die is then inserted therein and the plunger subjected toone or more blows from a hammer or mallet to force the die into theplastic counter-die body, thus converting the latter into a counter-die,as will be readily understood. The plunger is then removed from the cupvand the counterdie allowed to harden or plunged into cold water toharden it quickly. This operation of hardening the plastic material may,however, be accomplished by putting the entire swaging device into coldwater and removing the plunger after the plastic material has becomecompletely hardened. A plate-pattern is then cut from-sheet aluminium,gold, or platinum, according to the material to be used, and roughlyshaped into form for convenient application to the die, and this plateis then annealed or softened by heating', placed over the die, andapproximately shaped to the latter by means of a mallet. A thin IOO IlO

sheet of r-ubber 12 is laid over the plate applied to the die orsuitably interposed in any other suitable manner between the plate andcounter-die when the plunger is inserted in the cup for swaging. Afterthe plunger is inserted in the cup the plunger is subjected to a desirednumber of blows from a mallet or hammer to shape plate into theapproximate form. Thel plunger is then removed from the cup, the sheetof rubber permitting ready separation of the plate from the counter-die,and the plate is now found to be nearly completely swaged. After theplate is removed it is trimmed to the outline it is to have and is againannealed and subjected to a second swaging action in the manner beforedescribed. This operation may be carried out quite a number of timesuntil approximatelyT the exact shape is secured, and in many cases thismay be found sufficient for the purpose but where it is desired to havethe plate accurately conform in every particular to the contour of theplaster cast or model I subject the plate to a finishing operation inthe following manner: The counter-die is softened by the aid of heatwithout changing its contour, and the plate and die are then appliedwith the interposed sheet of rubber as before and the plate againswaged. In this act-ion, as the counter-die is now in a plasticcondition, it forms a working anvil-body and forces the plate into allthe undercuts that the die may have. After this treatment the plate ispractically perfectly swaged to the die; but in order to secure extremeaccuracy of shape the plaster model may now be used as a die, and as thecounter-die material is soft the model may be used for the finaloperation without danger of breaking or injuring it.

Where a large number of plates are to be produced and dies have beenpreviously prepared, the operation may be conducted with great rapidity,and as the several swaging operations with the die proper will under allordinary circumstances yield excellent results the finishing stage orstep of treatment need not be adopted unless an absolutelyperfectcontour of the part of the mouth of the patient to which the plate is tobe applied must be made, in which event such final treatment will, it isapparent, yield the desired result.

It will be observed that the apparatus is simple, cheap, and effectivein construction and provides a means whereby dental plates may be easilyand conveniently swaged with any desired degree of accuracy and that asthe die rests against an immovable backing, on the one hand, and theplate against a yielding surface, on the other hand, a slight resiliencyis afforded which facilitates the operation of shaping the plate'to .theexact contour of the die. It will of course be understood that themetallic parts of the apparatus may be nicl el-plated to prevent rustingand that other changes within the scope of the invention may be madewithout departing from the spirit thereof. It will also be apparent thatby preparing the counter-die body and anvil-backing for use bysubjecting them to heat while the plaster cast and die are beingprepared the period of operation bctween the initial and iinal stages oltreating the plate may be considerably reduced.

It will of course be understood that the invention contemplates as amodification the reversal of the parts of the device-that is, that thelower part or member of the swager, herein termed the cup, may beemployed as the die-carrier, while the upper part, herein termed theplunger, may be'chambered to receive the counter-die material.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is-- Adental-plate-swaging device comprising a cup, a counter-die of plasticmaterial therein terminating below the upper edge of the cup, said diebeing provided with a forming cavity and a plane marginal seat-facebetween the same and wall of the cup, a plunger adapted to 'fit at itslower end in the upper portion of the cup and provided with a recess ofgreater width and length than said forming-cavity, a die-backing seatedin said recess and composed of non-metallic substance capable of beingrendered plastic at a low degree of heat, a low-fusing, base-metal diepartially embedded in the backing, said die being fusible at a higherdegree of temperature than the backing and adapted to approximately fitthe forming-cavity, whereby a portion of the backing surrounds the die,said portion being trimmed flush with the lower edge of the plunger toform a plane marginal seat-face around the die, and a sheet of resilientmaterial free from connection with the dies and adapted to be interposedbetween the plate and wall of the counter-die, said sheet being ofproper dimensions to cover the plate and the said seatfaces of the dieand counter-die, whereby a uniform, maximum cushioning action is securedin the operation of swaging a plate, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof l aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE J. WEBER.

IOO

IIO

